Life on an H-1B visa — a visa that lets U.S. companies hire foreign-born workers for specialized jobs — is difficult, unpredictable, and has gotten even harder under the Trump administration. A new gaming studio, Reality Reload, is trying to capture that experience in a mobile game. It’s called H1B.Life, and it simulates the difficult choices, competing prio ... Show More
Aug 31
Going Down the AI Music Slop Chute with Camilo Landau | Dream Machines
Can people tell the difference between a song made by human musicians, and one prompted by AI? Oftentimes not, it turns out. But that doesn’t make the distinction any less important. Dream Machines hosts Alexis Madrigal and Robin Sloan talk to longtime musician Camilo Landau, who ... Show More
30m 37s
Jul 2020
'Yes, Asians Go To Jail Too'
Jason Mai didn’t know why his father was taken to jail when he was 12 years old. As a kid growing up in the Bay Area, he was told by his Chinese family to avoid má fan, which meant burdening or inconveniencing others by sharing the family secret. Only as an adult did Jason start ... Show More
18m 10s
Apr 2020
'I Become a Person of Suspicion'
<p><em>Note: This episode contains strong language.</em></p><p>As the death toll from the coronavirus rises in the U.S., so do reports of verbal and physical attacks against Asian-Americans, who say hostile strangers are blaming them for the pandemic. Today, one writer shares her ... Show More
35m 41s
Jun 2023
Avaya | EP 4 | Ashley's Story
<p>Jason learns his sentence. Avaya reveals the struggles she faced at home after Jason was arrested. Ashley, at her most vulnerable, faces Avaya to express her regrets. Then, experts explain how child sexual abuse material has become ubiquitous. </p> <p> If you would like to re ... Show More
31m 34s
Mar 2018
Episode 1: 'I Just Want You to Come Home'
Z had his first encounters with law enforcement when he was just 12 years old. Now, at 16, he’s sitting in detention on an armed robbery charge—his young life has been defined by cops and courts. Dwayne Betts is a poet and juvenile justice lawyer who, in his own youth, was deemed ... Show More
28m 57s
Jun 2019
Episodes We Love: You Must Change Your Life
<p>“I remember them finding the drugs and holding them up in the sky. And I was like, 'Oh man, I’m going to prison.'” This week’s guest, the writer Mitchell S. Jackson, started selling drugs when he was 14 years old, then went to prison for drug possession years later. When his m ... Show More
38m 24s